HE'S got red hair and they still don't care, but this time it was Everton's other ginger nut who had the travelling Evertonians singing the Blues at Bolton last night.

HE'S got red hair and they still don't care, but this time it was Everton's other ginger nut who had the travelling Evertonians singing the Blues at Bolton last night.

It was only a month ago that Steve Watson suggested - with his tongue only slightly in his cheek - that he could be the man to solve a short-term striker crisis at Goodison Park.

David Moyes thought otherwise and brought in Brian McBride on-loan, but the Geordie refused to let that little knockback curb his appetite for goals.

Since his season belatedly kicked off on New Year's Day, he has now plundered four goals in four starts, plus another one scored from the substitutes' bench earlier in the season.

In fact if his last three appearances of last season are taken into account, he has now scored six in his last seven starts . . . not bad for a player who failed to muster so much as a shot on target during a six-match spell as an emergency centre-forward under Water Smith.

But then Everton under David Moyes are an altogether more enterprising side. They were always in charge against a barren Bolton outfit, created by far the better chances and thoroughly deserved a second successive Premiership victory which sent them streaking past the 40 points mark.

Bolton were Everton's closest rivals in the battle to beat the drop last season. This time around the differences in attitude and expression between the two is devastating.

A month ago Everton overwhelmed Wanderers at Goodison, but somehow failed to score a goal. Last night they made no mistake.

The same XI which beat Sunderland 10 days previously were rewarded with the naming of an unchanged side. But their evening started sloppily. Li Tie was brushed off possession in the opening seconds, Frandsen crossed and ..TEXT: Michael Ricketts bulletted a header a foot wide. Campo sliced a shot wide from Djorkaeff's killer free-kick, but it was little more than a brief, short-lived flurry.

Tie recovered from that early lapse to produce a solid and tidy display - and enjoyed the rarity of a full 90-minute appearance.

Everton created opportunities, too, and they were cleaner more acceptable chances.

McBride saw a shot from six yards charged down after a minute-and-a-half, then Radzinski cut in superbly from the byline to give the American another opportunity, which he snatched at.

Radzinski's pace and intelligent running was a constant problem for Bolton, and he sneaked in at the back post to direct Pistone's long throw into Jaaskelainen's grateful grasp.

Everton's best move of the half saw Pistone supply the ball into the Bolton box again, this time with his right foot, but McBride's stooping header flew well wide.

McBride connected with his head again in the 32nd minute, but even he must have been astonished by what happened next.

The American's flick- on to Unsworth's free-kick saw the ball drop behind Steve Watson on the right hand edge of the Bolton penalty area. The newly-converted midfielder swivelled and hooked an acrobatic volley across goal, over Jaaskelainen and into the net for comfortably the most spectacular strike of his Everton career.

Eight minutes later he struck again, and while his second strike was more conventional, it was just as important.

Tomasz Radzinski (right) was the chance creator, with a dogged run to dispossess N'Gotty inside the penalty area. He pushed the ball back into Naysmith's path, his low drive was pushed away by Jaaskelainen and Watson raced in to gleefully rap the ball into the empty net.

From that point on the result scarcely looked in doubt - and Everton might have made their evening even easier before Gudni Bergsson's injurytime consolation.

For those of you who thought Compo was a decrepid, elderly has-been with funny hair who featured in the Last of the Summer Wine . . . think again.

He's currently on-loan at the Reebok from Real Madrid, and funnier.

Ivan Campo was destroyed by Radzinski for pace in the 53rd minute and when the advancing keeper pushed the little Canadian wide, he couldn't quite direct the ball into the supporting Nasysmith's path.

Nine minutes later Naysmith saw a stinging 20-yarder tipped over the crossbar then Watson saw two chances for a hat-trick vanish with a shot over the crossbar and a header from Gemmill's corner which Jaaskelainen scrambled away. As has been Everton's habit this season, they failed to finish the game in the comfort zone, despite dominating.

A minute of the allotted extra three had expired when Gudni Bergsson grabbed a close range consolation from a long throw into the Blues' box.

The tannoy announcer gave the credit to a bemused Delroy Facey, but afterwards Sam Allardyce confirmed Bergsson was definitely the goalscorer. It was about the only thing Bolton had been decisive about all night.

Everton, on the other hand, can now confidently start planning their hundred and first season of top flight football.

In case anyone hadn't noticed, that's the 40-point total passed three months earlier than last season - but now Everton's sights are trained are loftier targets than Premiership survival.